A team of researchers from the BDSLAB-ITACA group has made significant advances in the study of how the blood vessels that form in glioblastoma (GB), a very aggressive type of brain cancer, influence its behaviour and growth.
The results of this research, published in the scientific journal Heliyon, highlight the identification of a group of genes associated with a high incidence and their correlation with an unfavourable diagnosis.
The work has been developed by Víctor Montosa, María del Mar Álvarez, Javier Gil, María Gómez, Carles López, Juan Miguel García and Elies Fuster, all of them researchers of the BDSLab group, together with Rebeca Burgos, from the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe.
Context and importance of the research
Glioblastoma (GB) is the most common and aggressive primary malignant tumour of the brain, representing approximately 57% of all gliomas and 48% of all malignant tumours of the central nervous system. The vascularity of glioblastoma, i.e. the formation of new blood vessels within the tumour, is crucial for its development and progression.
‘Greater vascularity allows the tumour to receive more nutrients and oxygen, which favours its rapid growth and resistance to conventional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy,’ says Víctor Montosa, lead author of the study.
For this reason, the research has identified certain genetic mechanisms related to vascularity in glioblastoma in order to be able to carry out more specific treatments and, in this way, improve the prognosis of patients.
Research details and main results
The study used advanced technology to investigate vascularity in brain tumours. For this, magnetic resonance imaging parameters were used, calculated with the ONCOhabitats glioma analysis software (https://www.oncohabitats.upv.es/), which measures blood flow in the brain.
‘We analysed 147 RNA sequencing samples, 15 of which also had magnetic resonance imaging data. This allowed us to study the genetic profiles related to tumour vascularity, identifying 21 genes, especially active in tumours with high vascularity,’ says Juan Miguel García, head of the BSDLab group.
In this sense, the study shows that these genes are not only related to a greater formation of blood vessels in tumours, but are also linked to poorer survival in patients.
‘Significant differences in survival rates were found between patients with high vascularity and those with moderate vascularity,’ says Víctor Montosa.
Therefore, the study suggests the need for further validation studies with larger sample sizes and more accurate gene weighting systems to confirm the potential of these genes as prognostic biomarkers in glioblastoma.